


Of Spells and Friendship

by Talvenhenki



Series: In Another, Happier Universe [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arthur is being much more reasonable than usua, F/F, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lance has magic, Lancelot (Merlin) Lives, Light Angst, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-26 18:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18288224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talvenhenki/pseuds/Talvenhenki
Summary: Lancelot has magic. Shenanigans and near-death experiences ensue





	Of Spells and Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> Basically I got the idea for this from a dream and it took me almost a year to write it. I really hope you like it since it took me much more energy to write it than normal :"D

In hindsight, Merlin should have realised it sooner. The clues had all been there, right under his nose. However, it took Merlin one rainy night and a distressed Lancelot to understand what really was going on.

“Make sure that the windows are shut tight!” Gaius ordered as another flash of lightning struck somewhere near the castle. Rain was beating down on the windows and Merlin was afraid there would be a flood because of the storm. The storm had been beating the castle for a few days and everyone was growing irritated, king Arthur most of all. Someone had even suggested that magic could have caused the storm, making Arthur swear revenge to whomever could have done it.

“Should we cover the books and make sure nothing is on the lower shelves?” Merlin asked as he began gathering up books from the floor. “In case the windows break?”

“Good idea, my boy”, Gaius muttered. “Can you do that?”

“Sure”, Merlin said and began moving all the books and little gadgets higher to prevent them from being soaked. When he was almost done, a knock on the door stopped him.

“Who on earth needs help at this hour?” Gaius mumbled exasperatedly as he walked to the door. He opened the door, revealing Lancelot behind it. He was shaking and there was a small wound on the left side of his head.

“Heavens, Lancelot!” Gaius exclaimed. “What’s happened? Come in; we’ll help you.”

“I need help”, Lancelot breathed. “Is Merlin here?”

“Yes, he’s here”, Gaius said kindly as he led Lancelot inside the room by the arm. “And you certainly need help with your head wound.”

“Ah, right”, Lancelot mumbled dazedly as Gaius made him sit down on one of the benches. “Anyone else here besides you and Merlin?”

“No, only us two in here”, said Merlin who had rushed to Lancelot’s side. “What happened?”

“I think I have magic”, Lancelot whispered. He looked helplessly at Merlin and Gaius. Merlin’s eyes widened while Gaius looked stumped for words.

For a moment, no one made a sound. Only the rain beat the windows as Merlin and Gaius tried to process what Lancelot had said.

“How?” Merlin breathed. “How do you know? What happened?”

“I… something shot out of my hands”, Lancelot said quietly and hissed as Gaius began treating the head wound. “I was tired and angry and soaked and suddenly that happened, and I was thrown into the wall. Next thing I knew was that there were weird sparkles around my hands and I felt overall weird.”

“That does sound like magic”, Gaius said, “but why would it surface only now?”

“Must have something to do with the whole veil deal”, Merlin muttered. He grabbed Lancelot’s hands, massaging some warmth into them, trying to calm Lancelot down a bit. Lancelot exhaled shakily as he looked into Merlin’s eyes.

“What do I do?” Lancelot asked softly, sounding very unsure and lost. “Obviously I can’t tell anyone about this and I need to learn to control… this, whatever it is. But how do I do that?”

“I’ll help”, Merlin said, trying to sound encouraging even though he had virtually no idea what to do about the new information. “I can’t do it tonight, but we’ll tell Arthur that you’re injured and that you can’t work tomorrow. It’s not even a lie and you can rest here and process what has happened. And tomorrow evening I’ll help you learn to control your powers.”

Lancelot nodded and then hugged Merlin. Merlin returned the hug, minding the wound on Lancelot’s head as Gaius was trying to treat it.

“You’ll be fine, Lancelot”, Merlin said softly. “We won’t let Arthur find out.”

Lancelot nodded, hoping Merlin was right.

* * *

The following day Lancelot spent mostly in bed. In Merlin’s bed, to be precise, as Gaius didn’t want him roaming the castle with the head wound and when he knew nothing about his magic, especially without supervision. Some of the other knights even came to visit him, wishing him to get better fast. Gwaine had, with Percival’s help, managed to steal some food from the kitchens so they could give Lancelot some.

For a moment, Lancelot considered telling Percival what had happened but there was no way he’d get even a moment alone with Percival. Gwaine and Leon looked so worried that Lancelot didn’t really even have the heart to ask them to leave.

“So, what exactly happened to you?” Leon asked again, concern audible in his voice.

“I was soaked and tired and angry”, Lancelot said, smiling weakly. “I wasn’t looking where I was going and suddenly tripped over something and then hit my head on a corner of a table. There might still be blood on that table.”

Gwaine winced and blanched at the thought of the bloodied table. Lancelot couldn’t help but laugh weakly at the horrified expression. Everyone, even Leon, smiled a little when they heard the laugh.

“You really keep scaring us half to death”, Elyan remarked later, when the knights were leaving. “Is everything alright? You weren’t like this before.”

“Everything’s fine, Elyan”, Lancelot said, the lie already so well practiced that no one noticed it was a lie. “I was just unlucky.”

“That’s good”, Elyan said, grinning. “See you soon, Lancelot. Get well.”

“See you”, Lancelot mumbled as the door closed.

Gaius soon entered the room, looking at Lancelot worriedly. He was carrying clean bandages as well as some water.

“I thought it’d be good to change your bandages”, Gaius said. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, just a little tired”, Lancelot said. “Does Merlin really not mind me staying here?”

“No, he doesn’t”, Gaius said. “You’re friends and Merlin is the kind of person who always helps friends.”

“That’s true”, Lancelot said, smiling, as Gaius began changing the bandages on Lancelot’s head.

Later in the evening, when Merlin had finished his chores, the teaching of magic could begin. Rain was still beating the windows as Merlin and Lancelot sat on the floor of Gaius’ chambers, trying to learn anything and everything about magic in one evening. Merlin had gathered all his books of magic and begun asking questions of Lancelot’s magic as they tried to find out what sort of magic Lancelot possessed. From time to time Merlin tried to ask Lancelot to recite some spells, most of which only created small specks of light from Lancelot’s hands.

Truth to be told, Lancelot wasn’t sure they would ever find out what kind of magic he had. Not until he managed to produce a small flower from out of nowhere. For a moment, he could only look at the flower, too stumped for words.

“You made a flower!” Merlin exclaimed and then laughed. “Gaius! Isn’t this one of the herbs you usually use?”

“Yes, it looks like a lavender”, Gaius said as he looked at the flower more closely. “Very good for different oils and smells for ladies. I believe Gwen likes it.”

“Oh”, Lancelot breathed and then grinned. “I could create more of these.”

“Do that”, Gaius said. “We need more soap anyway and since Merlin hasn’t had time to gather herbs, we have no lavender.”

Lancelot grinned and repeated the spell Merlin had told him a moment before. Soon there were small piles of lavender in the room and everything smelled heavenly. Lancelot leaned backwards into a pile of lavender and chuckled.

“I love this skill”, Lancelot said.

“I think there’s more to it than creating flowers from nothing”, Gaius reminded the other two. “We should probably continue researching your powers tomorrow, Lancelot. You look tired and I’d like to keep you here for a few more nights to look after your condition.”

“Sounds good”, Lancelot mumbled. “I feel like I’m too tired to walk to my room alone right now.”

“Let’s get you back to bed, then”, Merlin said and helped Lancelot up. Gaius watched the two with a smile and wondered what on earth he would do with all the lavender Lancelot had conjured in the room.

* * *

The following days revealed three things about Lancelot’s new magical powers: they were mostly healing, they were probably somehow connected to Lancelot’s magical sister, and they worked best when Lancelot was surrounded by nature or plants. For that reason, Lancelot took up the habit of carrying a few flowers on himself wherever he went. He carried mostly lavenders as he could summon a few whenever he wanted, making himself smell of lavender.

Queen Guinevere was – very understandably – confused about the new way Lancelot smelled. She took up a habit of talking to Lancelot every day, trying to find out what he smelled of each day.

Eventually the knights realised that there’d been a change in their friend as well. Gone was the darkness of the months that had followed Lancelot’s brief death. Instead of the moodiness, Lancelot was again his own smiling self who joked with Gwaine and helped the others whenever he could.

He felt good, being happy again instead of being on the edge all the time. Of course, he couldn’t tell his fellow knights about his newfound magical skills but beside that, he was truly happy.

Then, during one patrol, it all went to hell.

Gwaine, Elyan, Percival and Leon had been sent to patrol the forest around the city along with Lancelot. There had been reports of bandits around the area and Arthur had wanted to investigate. As the king, however, Arthur couldn’t patrol with the knights anymore, so he’d had to stay back while the knights went to their patrol.

“Can’t say I see much movement in here”, Gwaine noted as the knights walked through the forest. “Do you think some of the reports might have lied?”

“Probably not”, Lancelot said. “I can’t imagine people lying about something as important as this; the bandits are probably just clever.”

“Or they’ve moved to another location”, Leon guessed. “Bandits never stay at one place for long.”

“That’s true”, Lancelot mumbled. Suddenly he heard rustling in the grass and his head shot up, so he could scan the area. “I think I heard something. Stay quiet.”

“See anything?” Percival whispered.

“Something’s moving”, Lancelot mumbled, following the movement with his eyes. “I think it’s coming here…”

Before Lancelot could continue, a yell erupted from the woods and an arrow whirled past his neck only by half an inch. As Lancelot regained his bearings, he realised that Gwaine was already rushing at the bandits who were appearing from every corner of the woods. Lancelot immediately began fighting two of the bandits, quickly dispatching them while the others fought. He ran to Elyan’s aid as Elyan was fighting five bandits at once.

For some reason, Lancelot felt very anxious about the attack. It was as if something bad was waiting to happen, or worse, to reveal everyone else that Lancelot had magic. That would be his end.

When most of the bandits had been killed or captured, Lancelot realised he couldn’t see Gwaine anywhere. He could hear the clanging of swords from some yards away, from the direction of a slow stream. As Lancelot began running towards the sound of the fighting, he realised three things in rapid succession.

If Gwaine fell into the stream, he couldn’t swim wearing the armour.

Lancelot couldn’t save Gwaine alone if Gwaine fell into the stream.

Lancelot would have to use magic.

 _I’m doomed_ , he thought as he continued to hurry towards Gwaine. Soon he could see Gwaine fighting the last bandit. They were fighting at the edge of the stream and Lancelot felt dread in his stomach.

Gwaine soon managed to get upper hand in the fight and kill the bandit. He looked up and saw Lancelot who had slowed down to walking instead of running. Gwaine smiled and waved at Lancelot but his smile faltered when the ground under his feet started to crumble.

Lancelot would never make it in time. As he saw Gwaine beginning to fall down, he yelled out one of the spells Merlin had taught him, hoping to be able to save Gwaine. As Lancelot fell on the forest floor, tripped by some stray tree roots, he could hear Gwaine’s surprised yelp and a soft thud, signalling that Gwaine had been saved.

“Bloody hell, Lancelot!” Gwaine shouted. “Bloody hell, that was amazing! Why haven’t you told me you can do that?”

“Because… magic is banned in Camelot?” Lancelot said quietly as he stood up, his legs shaking a little from the relief and shock he had felt in less than a second.

“Ah, right”, Gwaine muttered. “I think everyone heard us, though. Or if they didn’t, they’ll ask what happened.”

There was a soft thud from behind Lancelot. Gwaine muttered a curse as Lancelot turned around, seeing Leon whose legs had not supported him because of the shock. He looked like someone had cuffed him over the head; his eyes were wide from shock.

“This can’t be happening”, Leon breathed. “A sorcerer as a knight of Camelot… this can’t be happening.”

“I think it already happened”, Gwaine said as he walked to Leon and helped him up. “Look, Leon, do you really think our Lance is evil just because he has magic? He just saved me; how could that be evil?”

“But all magic is evil!” Leon protested, still standing only thanks to Gwaine’s support. “Isn’t it?”

“Well, I think our king might be wrong about that”, Gwaine said. “I mean, can you really imagine our Lancelot, whose kindness is surpassed only by Percival’s, being evil? Look at that face and tell me he’s capable of being evil. Tell me, Leon.”

“…No, I can’t”, Leon mumbled eventually. “But what about other sorcerers? Are there actually sorcerers that are not evil?”

“Leon, buddy, hasn’t your life been saved by sorcerers?” Gwaine asked. “Out of all the people in the world, I thought you’d be the least likely to hate sorcerers.”

“They were druids”, Leon said softly. “Not sorcerers.”

“Pretty much the same to me”, Gwaine said. “They’re humans and have magic. I mean, what else should I know? They’re people who are capable of being good or evil.”

“But what do we do?” Leon asked softly. “What if the king finds out? We can’t just keep a secret like this from him!”

“Yes, we can”, Gwaine said exasperatedly. “Do you really want him to execute our Lancelot?”

“Of course not!” Leon exclaimed. “I just… I need time to think.”

“What’s going on?” came Elyan’s voice from the trees. He and Percival emerged to the small clearing where the other knights had been alone.

Gwaine let out a string of curses and Leon looked like he would pass out. For a moment, Lancelot considered lying but decided that lying wouldn’t be worth it; his comrades, his _friends_ , deserved to know about his magic. It would have been unfair for the two if they didn’t know while Leon and Gwaine did.

“I have magic”, Lancelot said. Elyan looked at him like he had grown a second head while Percival made a quiet “oh”-sound. “I had to use it to stop Gwaine from falling into that stream over there. Leon saw me using my magic to save Gwaine.”

“Magic?” Elyan asked. “And you hadn’t told us because…?”

“I discovered my powers fairly recently”, Lancelot said, surprised at how steady his voice was. “It was some months after my brief touch with death. I really couldn’t tell anyone about it as magic is banned in Camelot.”

“Well, we obviously cannot tell the king”, Percival said. “What do we do?”

“We keep our mouths shut”, Elyan decided. “If Arthur doesn’t know, he can’t do a thing, can he?”

“No, he can’t”, Gwaine said, grinning. “What do you say, Leon?”

“I can’t believe we’re planning to commit treason and actually going to go through with it”, Leon muttered and turned to look at Lancelot. “We’ll have to try to talk to the king and change his opinion on magic. If your magic is discovered when he still thinks it’s evil… I don’t want to think what will happen.”

“That’s true”, Elyan said. “Does anyone else know about your magic?”

“Merlin and Gaius do”, Lancelot said quietly, smiling to himself. “I hurt myself when I discovered my powers and accidentally told them. They promised they wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“Good”, Leon said. “Your powers have to remain a secret.”

They did not, however, remain secret for very long.

* * *

It was common knowledge that there were a lot of people who held grudges against Camelot. Sorcerers, banished nobles, those who’d lost loved ones to the war against magic; they were many in numbers. Even some princesses held a newfound grudge against queen Guinevere for snatching Arthur away. It meant that the royal pair was never absolutely safe and needed protection from the best knights of Camelot. Unfortunately, it meant that Lancelot had to stay very close to the king while trying to hide his magic.

It was sometimes a little awkward.

During one particularly slow and boring day, when the most interesting discussion in the throne room was the latest tavern adventure of sir Gwaine, a sudden noise caught everyone’s attention. The source of the noise – banging and clanging – was slowly moving towards the throne room and the knights moved to protect the king and the queen.

“What’s going on?” Leon muttered to himself as he unsheathed his sword.

The door to the throne room slammed open. It revealed a young man, no more than twenty years old, whose eyes shone golden. Everyone in the room gasped as they saw the man and recognized him as the person who’d been helping people around at the marketplace only the day before. He had been nice to everyone and there’d been no indication of magic or hate in the young man.

“Who are you?” Arthur asked, sounding every bit the royal he was. “What are you doing?”

“I’ve been sent to kill your queen, king Arthur”, the man answered. “She’s not worthy of being at your side!”

Soft murmurs of shock broke the still atmosphere of the throne room as Arthur stepped forward, intent on shielding the queen from any harm.

“Arrest him!” Arthur yelled. “She is very much worthy of being at my side and no one other than me and her have a say in the matter.”

The young man snarled as the guards grabbed him. Suddenly he yelled something – _a curse_ , Lancelot thought – and waved his hand at Gwen.

It took less than a second for Lancelot to react. He ran to physically block the curse and yelled out a spell to stop the young man from doing any further harm. As the young man’s curse hit Lancelot, he realised that the curse wasn’t meant to kill but instead throw the receiver against the closest wall.

As Lancelot’s head connected with the throne room wall with a sickening crack, he could only think that Arthur would probably execute him for having magic. As his consciousness slipped away, he could only see queen Guinevere’s upset expression and king Arthur’s confusion.

* * *

“He’s a sorcerer. A sorcerer! A sorcerer as a knight of Camelot!”

Arthur was fuming with rage after Lancelot had been taken away to the dungeons along with the young man who had tried to kill Gwen. He was pacing in the throne room that had been mostly emptied, only a handful of knights had stayed with the king, along with Gwen, Gaius, and Merlin.

“With all due respect, sire, I don’t think he’s evil”, Leon said softly as he glanced at the other knights for support. “I know things look very bad right now, but he did use his magic to _save_ the queen.”

“But all magic is still evil, Leon”, Arthur hissed, “or would you call my father a liar?”

“I think he misunderstood the nature of magic”, Gaius said. “Something bad happened to him because of magic and he assumed that all magic had to be evil because he’d never encountered kind magic.”

“That can’t be”, Arthur said. “Then why is Morgana evil? What turned her evil if not magic?”

“She could have been afraid”, Merlin said. “Maybe she was afraid Uther would execute her and that fear turned to hate.”

“You’re wrong”, Arthur muttered. “You’re all wrong.”

“I think you’re wrong”, Gwaine said suddenly. “Can you honestly imagine our Lancelot being even the tiniest bit evil? Can you imagine him wanting to hurt someone he cares for? Can you honestly imagine what it must have taken him not to just leave and go into hiding so you wouldn’t find out and execute him? How much of a heartless bastard can you really be?”

“How dare you speak to me like that?” Arthur hissed. “Magic is evil, period. I’ll decide what to do about Lancelot tomorrow. Until then, you’re all dismissed.”

Gwaine glared at the king for a moment before storming out of the throne room. Merlin followed him, intent to go check on Lancelot. As he followed Gwaine to the dungeons, Merlin realised how impossible it would be to break Lancelot out, in case Merlin needed to do so.

“We’ll get him out of here if the need arises”, Gwaine said, as if he’d sensed Merlin’s thoughts. “No one’s going to execute our Lancelot. Not even the king.”

“How are you so sure?” Merlin asked as the two reached the dungeons. They soon found the cell Lancelot was in and saw that he was finally waking up. He looked around confusedly and smiled a little as he noticed Merlin and Gwaine.

“How are you doing, buddy?” Gwaine asked, smiling a little as he knelt down near the cell door. “Is your head okay?”

“I’m feeling a bit unsteady”, Lancelot said and smiled shakily. For a moment, he smiled uncertainly at Merlin and Gwaine before looking down at the ground and swallowing. “Arthur…Is he going to execute me for having magic?” he asked softly.

“He says he hasn’t decided what to do yet”, Gwaine told, sounding a little sad and apologetic. “That probably means he might not execute you but banish you instead if we’re lucky. If that happens, I’m going with you and so might Percival; he looked like he would leave whether you are executed or banished.”

“Oh no, Gwaine, you shouldn’t promise things like that”, Lancelot said, squirming where he sat. “I’ll be fine; just trust me. I’ll just look for some other place to live in; I’ve survived before so why wouldn’t I survive for now? And if Arthur decides to execute me for having magic, you’ll just have to live on.”

“Yeah, he won’t”, Gwaine said. “We’ll smuggle you out if he tries to. I’m not going to let you die. We put up with a lot of the king’s shit but if he tries to harm one of our own, that we won’t stand.”

Lancelot looked at Gwaine quietly as Gwaine spoke. Merlin realised that Lancelot looked a little bit sad as well as moved by Gwaine’s words. When Gwaine finished what he was saying, Lancelot smiled sadly and shook his head.

“I can’t let you do that”, Lancelot said calmly. “If all of you leave, who will stay to protect Arthur? There are greater forces at move here, Gwaine, and we can’t interrupt them by being childish. If I’m to die or to be exiled because of my magic, then I will and that will be the end of the conversation. The king and queen need protection and without you and the other knights they can’t be protected.”

“That…that’s not alright!” Gwaine argued. “You can’t just offer yourself on a silver plate while the king is being childish himself! Can’t he see that you’re the least capable of us to do any evil?”

“I don’t think he can”, Lancelot said, sounding very sad. “I think he’s afraid because if I’m not evil, it means that king Uther was wrong, and I don’t think Arthur is ready accept that his father was wrong. We can’t blame him for that; he has already lost so much because of Uther’s hate of magic.”

For a fleeting moment, Merlin thought that Lancelot’s words had referred to the fact that Arthur could never know everything about Merlin and his magic. A quick look in Lancelot’s eyes confirmed the suspicion, making Merlin feel both sadness and longing for the friendship he hoped to have with Arthur. He also felt terrified about the very real possibility of Lancelot being executed for having magic he had used to protect people.

“It’s wrong”, Merlin mumbled. “You shouldn’t have to die just because you happen to have magic. You’d never hurt anyone with it.”

“I know”, Lancelot said, smiling at Merlin as encouragingly as he seemed able to. “But you can’t let this make you go against Arthur. I know this might feel like the end of everything but consider how horrible this must be for Arthur too. He must feel truly alone if all of you are siding with me.”

“You can’t always think of others when you’re the one in trouble”, Gwaine muttered angrily. “Protecting Arthur might be our job but protecting one of our own from execution is what we do, even if Arthur is the one trying to execute you.”

Lancelot frowned and looked at the ground of the cell. He didn’t seem very afraid to Merlin but something about his appearance was off. He seemed agitated, and the atmosphere felt like he was waiting for something to happen.

As if he was waiting to be executed.

“We’ll find a way to help you”, Merlin whispered. “I promise we will.”

* * *

In the evening, when Lancelot was almost asleep – the hay was just soft enough for him to sleep on – he heard someone walking into the dungeons. He sat up and – to his surprise – saw king Arthur himself standing in front of his cell. Lancelot felt so dumbfounded that he couldn’t find the words to greet his king and he instead just gaped at Arthur.

“Your manners are almost as bad as Merlin’s today”, Arthur said, making Lancelot laugh out in surprise. The whole situation felt so unreal that Lancelot couldn’t conjure up any words to answer Arthur’s insult.

“I’m here as a friend”, Arthur said, sitting down next to Lancelot’s cell and pulling out a bottle of wine and two goblets from under his cape. “I wanted to talk to you about your magic over some wine.”

“You wanted to talk about magic?” Lancelot asked, hoping he didn’t sound as dumb as he felt. “I thought you think all magic evil, sire.”

“I’ve had doubts”, Arthur said as he poured some wine into the goblets. He handed one over to Lancelot who accepted the wine gladly as he had not been given anything to eat or drink all day. “Seeing as you, the very image of goodness, haven’t been corrupted by your magic gave me even more doubts. How could magic be evil if some people still used it for good?”

Lancelot sensed the perfect opportunity to sway Arthur’s opinion on magic and, without a second thought, decided to seize the opportunity. He took a sip of the wine Arthur had given him and spoke.

“Sire, I can only talk for myself, but I do have something to say. From what little I know, magic can both heal and destroy. My powers are mostly healing but in a serious situation I can use them to fight as well. I have no doubt that people with more destructive powers are also capable of healing. I don’t think that the nature of magic is inherently evil, but that the people who use it can choose to use it for either good or bad.”

“And you’d choose to use your powers for good?” Arthur asked after a brief moment of silence.

“I have already chosen to do so.”

“And you’d protect me and the queen from all foes, even magical?”

“Always.”

“Even though my father would have killed you for your powers?”

“Without a second thought, sire.”

Arthur sighed and rubbed his face. He drank the last bits of the wine in his goblet and stood up, grumbling a little to himself, as he began pacing around the room in front of Lancelot’s cell while Lancelot stared at him.

“I’ll get you out of here somehow”, Arthur said after a while of pacing, “but I may have to strip you from your knighthood for some time. I won’t have you executed, that much I promise.”

Lancelot felt relief wash over him as Arthur’s words sunk in. He wasn’t going to die after all. He let out the breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding and leaned his head on the cold cell wall.

“Thank you, sire”, Lancelot breathed.

Now he could only hope that Arthur could eventually find out about Merlin’s powers as well.

* * *

“He let you out?” Merlin exclaimed as Lancelot was once again in Gaius’ quarters. He had been sent there by the king’s orders the moment he’d been let out of the cell and the knights escorting him had filled him in on the situation.

“He did”, Lancelot said, laughing a little, as Merlin hugged him. “I was stripped of my knighthood and made Gaius’ helper for now as Arthur is passing a series of laws to make magic legal again. It will take some time for the things to settle down, but it’ll be fine, eventually.”

Gaius smiled as well, having already been informed about his new apprentice. He was glad to have a new pair of hands helping him, but he was worried about how he would feed and house all three of them. Lancelot and Merlin could probably share the room and hopefully they would be given extra rations now that there were three of them. However, Gaius couldn’t worry too much as Lancelot and Merlin’s joy was contagious. As the three of them were celebrating, there was suddenly a noise and the door slammed open, revealing queen Guinevere herself standing behind it.

“You _are_ free!” she breathed and ran to Lancelot to hug him. “Thank you, _thank you_ , for saving me, Lancelot. Thank you for making Arthur see sense. Thank you.”

“I only did my duty, my queen”, Lancelot said, smiling mischievously and hugged Guinevere. “I would have died gladly if that were my destiny, but it seems like the world still has some use for me.”

“If not as knight, then maybe as Gaius’ apprentice”, Merlin added. This made Guinevere laugh and she sat down around the table the others had been sitting around before her arrival. Conversation and laughing soon filled the air as Lancelot recounted how Arthur had walked into the dungeons and eventually promised to set Lancelot free.

As the hours passed, Guinevere seemed to grow quieter and quieter. She kept looking at Lancelot and worrying her lower lip. It looked like she had something she wanted to say but couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“What is it, my dear?” Gaius asked after noticing Guinevere’s odd behaviour. “Is something bothering you?”

“I…there’s something Lancelot should know”, Guinevere whispered. Lancelot looked up as she continued, “It’s about your sister, Lancelot. The one who came here to Camelot to ask for protection for the outlying villages. I…I overheard a conversation between Arthur and Leon. She…they said she’s dead.”

Guinevere looked down, unable to face Lancelot. The silence that followed was suffocating and Guinevere couldn’t help but to hope for a reaction, shouting, yelling, crying, anything. She felt like she couldn’t take the silence for much longer when Lancelot eventually spoke.

“At least she isn’t hurting”, he said. Guinevere looked up to see Lancelot smiling sadly while Merlin looked openly upset about the news. “To be honest, I was starting to think she’s gone by now. It’s a relief to know for sure, though. Thank you, Guinevere.”

“I found her grave”, she told, “when you were in the dungeons, I went to search for it and placed a little stone with her name on it and planted some flowers. It’s right outside the city walls. When…when Arthur gives you your knighthood back and you can move around in the city again, I can show it to you so you can visit her.”

“Thank you”, Lancelot whispered. Guinevere hugged him again and then awkwardly remarked how late it was and said she should probably leave and almost ran out of the door.

There was silence for a moment before Gaius started rummaging around his pots and kettles and began cooking something for dinner. Merlin sat down next to Lancelot who looked a little lost and somehow younger than he usually did.

“I bet she’s really proud of you in the afterlife”, Merlin said quietly. “She’s got such a great little brother after all.”

Lancelot smiled a little at Merlin’s words. At that moment, Lancelot knew that the future would be safer to many new children with magical powers.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are more than welcome!


End file.
